Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium.

Episode 168.

A guided tour.

Dear friends, I write to you from the Queen of Cities.

That's what the Greeks call their capital, the city of Constantine.

And while I confess pride in our modest home and its venerable history, even she would

bow before the Queen.

There is only so much space in this letter to recount the wonders that I've seen.

And yet I would consider it a sorrowful regret if I did not find at least some words to

describe the experience open to those fortunate pilgrims who guided by God arrive safely

on these shores.

Our hosts provided us with a guide for the duration of our stay, Stilianos, a man of great

knowledge and noble bearing.

He led us on horseback through the crowded city while his servant Zontos followed behind.

Though carrying an unappealing visage, he had a quick mind and knew the streets even better

than did his master.

All pilgrims must first visit the great cathedral church, the Ayasophia as they call it,

Saint Sophia or Holy Trinity.

You have never known a building of such immense size, though the structure itself pales into

comparison with the treasures one finds inside.

The huge doors carved from the wood of Noah's Ark, the icons of the Old Pure Mother of God

and of the Holy Saviour which vanquished the iconoclasts.

...